Method and apparatus for manipulating tubular textile material



Dec. 15, 1931. c. w. LEGUlLLON 1,336,713

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANIPULATING TUBULAR TEXTILE MATERIAL Filed Sept. 27, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 I JUL/BUILD]? 57755/55 [LT-L ym/[0n j fm, W r W Dec. 15, 1931. c. w. LEGUILLON METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANIPULATING TUBULAR TEXTILE MATERIAL Filed Sept. 27, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. '15, 1931 UNITED STATES,

PATENT oFncE CHARLES W.'IEGUILLON, OF AKRON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR T ornnw YORK, is. Y., A CORPORATION or NEW YORK METHOD AND APPARATUS FQR MANIPULATING TUBULAR TEXTILE 'MATERIAL Appli cation flled September 27, 1927. Serial No; 222,255.

This invention relates to procedure and apparatus for manipulating tubular textile material such as the stockinet commonly employed as the lining material for rubber foot- Wear, the material usually being woven or knitted in tubular form as a matter of donvenience in its manufacture and requiring to be slit longitudinally and rubberized in a spread condition 'inpreparation for use.

' tubular stock, and especially for slitting-it along a single line of cut. Further objects are to provide conveniently and economically 7 though the fabric is preferably for rubberizing the slit stock, to avoid: diiiiculty in holding the slit stock in spread condition, and to eliminate intermediate steps, such as reeling and transporting the stock, between the slitting and the rubberizing operations. V v a Of the accompanying drawings: Fig. 1 is aside elevation of apparatus embodying and adapted to carry out my invention in its preferred form, a calendar associated therewith being shown in section.

Fig, 2 is a section on line 2+2 of Fig,'1. Fig. 3 is a'plan view of the apparatus and the work therein, a part of'the'worlt being broken away. q

Fig. 4 is" asection on line 44 of'Fig. Referring to the drawings the fabric slit ting and spreading apparatus is here shown in combination with a calender 10, comprising a top, platen roll 11, a middle, coating or friction roll 12 and a bottom roll 13'. Al rubberized by means of a calender or other'device' adapted to receivethe fabric directly from the slitting and spreading means, other rubberizing deof the stock from the '19, 20 connected to vices or simple reeling means may be substituted for the calender. l

THE 3.1:. GOODRIGH COMPANY,

"The slitting and spreading device coma prises a guide or form '14 having a freely proje'ctin'g, receiving-end section 15 which has a form such as results from flattening one end portion of a hollow cylinder while the other end remains circular, the flattened receiving end being of such size as to fit snuglywithin the stockin'et tube 16 with the latter in flat tened condition and the circular end of the section 15 being of such size as to'fit snugly within the stockinet tube in circular condition. "Next to-the section 15" the guide comprises a cylindrical section 17 constituting a part of its freely projecting portion and be 'yond that the guide comprises a section 18 which is of a form such as to provide for a feeding of the slit stock over its surface from a cylindricaltubular condition at the slitting position to a flatly spread condition without substantial deforming, or causing localized stretching of the stockin its progression to the spread condition, which is to say that all lines representing paths of travel ofportions cylindrical portion 17 ofthe guide to the terminal fiat portion of the guide are of substantially equal length.

The guide 14 is supported upon standards the terminal portion 18 of the guide, the slitting of the stock'by a driven rotary slitting knife 21 mounted adjacentthe cylindrical portion 17 of the guide permitting the stock to pass the supporting standards 19, 20. -The terminus of the guide 14 is in position to deliver the slit and flattened stock to the calender 10 and the calender is adapted to draw the stock over the guide 14 from a stock roll 16 mountedupon standards 22, 22 adjacent the receiving end of the guide. A guid e roll 23 is mounted in position to guide the fabric onto the guide 14 from the same direction notwithstanding variations in the size of the stock roll 16 '5 In order to prevent the slit stock from sliding laterally out of proper alignment upon the terminal portion 18 of the guide, an endless belt 24 provided on its outer face with a longitudinal row of pins 25, 25 is mounted upon pulleys such as the pulley 26 (Fig. 1) journaled under the respective end portions of the section 18, the belt 2% passing through slots in the section 18 and sliding upon the outer face of the said section between lateral guides 18, 18 thereon and driven by the fabric as the latter is drawn by the calender. The pins 25,.successively penetratingthe fabric at the slitting position and moving forward therewith to the delivery end of the guide prevent lateral'creeping of the fabric upon the guide section 18 in this movement andare withdrawn from the fabric at thedelivery end of the guide by the'passage of the belt downward through the latter.

To insure penetration of the fabric by the pins'25', a grooved roller 27 is' mounted just over the pulley 26 at thereceiving end, of the v belts orbit,.in position to engage the outer face of the fabricandprevent it from being lifted by the pins, the pins extending into the groove'of the roller 27,'as will be clear upon reference to Fig. 2.

To brush the 'stockinet for the reception of a sheet of rubber 28 in the calender, astifl' rotary brush 29 may be mountedbetween the guide 1A and the calender, as shown in Fig. 1.

To assure a: flatly spread condition of the side margins of the flattened fabric as it passes into the nip of the calender, an air nozzle 30 is mounted at each side of the calender in positionto direct thejet of air against the under face of the fabric and toward its side edge, the jetsof air counteracting the tendency of the-side margins of the fabric to curl downward after they pass from the section 18 of the guide 7 In theoperation of the apparatus, the work beingistarted through the calender'as shown, the calender continuously draws the tube of stockinet from the stock roll 16 and over the guide, the rotary cutter 21 slits the stockalong its'other side as the stock passes from the cylindrical; section 17 of the guide, the endlessbelt 24 with its pins'25 maintain the stock in properalignment as it passes over the guide section 18 to a flattened condition adjacent the calender rolls, the air nozzles 30 keep the side margins of the fabric flat tened out against the top roll of the calender and the stock is provided with. a coating of rubber as it passesthrough thecalender, from which it is" received by any suitable means such as astock reel (not shown).

The rubberizing of the stockinet fabric immediately after it passes in flattened condition from: the guide section 18 reduces the tendency of the fabric to curl at the edges and the rubberized, fabric may be conveniently reeled or otherwise disposed of without very great precaution against'curling.

The flared and flattened receiving end portion of the guide section 15 causes the flattened tubular stockinet fabric to pass onto the guide without twisting such as to spoil the alignment and the cylindrical section 17 of the guide maintains the tubular structure in accurate unslacked or slightly tensioned condition for the slitting operation, and the apparatus as a whole provides for conveniently slitting the stock along a single line of out and progressively spreading the entire strip of fabric to flat form without at any time excessively stretching or slacking any part of the fabric.

Modifications are possible within the scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus formanipulating tubular textile material, the said apparatus comprising a guide formed with a projecting end portion adapted to receivethe stock thereon in tubular form, means for drawing the stock past saidguide, and means for slitting the stock along a single line of cut longitudinally of'the tube as it passes over the project-' ing portion of the guide, the guide being formed with a terminal portion so shaped that longitudinally the guide varies from an approximately cylindrical form to a substantiallyflat form, the effective width of the substantially flat portion being approximately equal to the circumferenceof the approximately cylindrical portion, and the surfacebetween the two said portions being so shaped that all lines representing paths of travel ofportions of, the stock are of substantially equal length, for the sliding of the stock thereover from closed tubular form to a transversely flattened form without substantial localized stretching or slacking of the stock.

2. Apparatus for manipulating tubular textile material, the said apparatuscomprising a guide formed with a projecting end portion adapted to receive the stock thereon in tubular form, means for drawing the stock past said guide, means for slitting the stock longitudinally of the tube as it passes. over the proj ectingportion of the guide, the guide being formed with a terminal portion shaped for the sliding of the stock thereover from a tubular to a transversely flattened form without substantial localized stretching or slacking of the stock, and stock-engaging means mounted for actuation by the stock engaged therewith, to travelwith the stock along the surface of the terminal portion of the guide to preserve alignment of the stock thereon.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which the stock-engaging means defined comprises an endless, orbital member mounted for actuation by the stock engaged therewith and stock-penetrating projections thereon.

4. The method of manipulating tubular.

textile material which comprises feeding the material in tubular form, rogressively slitting it along a single line oFcut longitudinal- 1 of the tube as it is so fed, and progressively flattening the material throughout its entire Width as it passes from the slitting position, While maintaining the material substantiall free from local stretching or slacking as 1t passes from tubular to flattened form.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 24th day of September, 1927.

CHARLES W. LEGUILLON. 

